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Manse AA-004
Category:LDDD Manses Manse AA-004 Solar Manse 5 Drawbacks: Maintenance 5, Hearthstone Rating 0 Powers: Outside Fate 4, Greater Veil of Shadows 4, Zone of Influence 4, Provider 3, Atelier Manse 3, Zone of Comfort (1) Powered by a tiny shard of The Patropolis of Ur, suspended in an elixer of unrefined essence and Wyld flame, Manse AA-004 is a sharp departure from many other Manse's of Creation. While most other structures are unique structures, built to achieve a specific purpose or designed with a specific artistic flair in mind, Manse AA-004 is a template. Modeled after the cold efficiency of the Alchemical Exalted, it is the basis of a "model" society, a design of manse easily adapted to Demesne's across creation. A floating structure in roughly spindle-like shape, Manse AA-004 draws Essence from the demesne below and into six great projectors mounted about it's base, the raw energy channeled through the shard and then distributed throughout the geomancy. By this means, identical manse's may be built across creation without concern for the geographic conditions around the demesne -- all that is required is a sufficient amount of raw Essence. The Manse's greatest feature is that it combines the greatest features of a provider and atelier Manse. The raw stuff of the Wyld that leaves the Manse outside fate is drawn into the structure and mixed with Essence in the structures great alchemical vats, the resulting unstable substance given form by the power of the Manse's machinery and the will of it's operators. The manse has enough capacity to serve as the dwelling for over 100,000 people, and the capacity to provide all of them with all the food and basic necessities of life they will ever need. It is a society without need, where one need never worry about food, shelter, warmth, or medicine, where work is something one engages in as a means of affording luxuries -- or where one simply doesn't work at all. It has been said that culture is a product of surplus, and Manse AA-004 proves this concept, with many of it's inhabitants turning to artistic pursuits, honing their music or other craft without fear of becoming the stereotypical "starving artist." Others combine their technical knowledge and artistic flair and turn it to the air of airship design, with many exotic and interesting vehicles resting in the flying cities many ports. There are two great exceptions to the city-manse's lack of responsibilities. While the majority of the city falls into the caste of artists, turning their day to pursuits of amusement and beauty, a significant part of the cities population turn to more technical pursuits. The power of magitech keeps their society in it's perpetual golden age, and the pursuit of that knowledge carries with it both money and status. The mechanics below, who maintain the Essence Extractors and the shard reactor, are the most respected profession in the city, and at least a decade of service in the hot and dangerous depths of the reactor level are a prerequisite to holding public office in the city itself. The second exception is that of military service. When one has everything, the only thing left is the struggle to protect it. All citizens of the floating Manse are required to undergo training, and any of them (of both genders) are subject to reactivation should the city find itself under attack. Inside the Manse itself, a strong feeling of order permeates, generated by the Shard below and the general will of it's citizens. Hallways are clean and brightly lit, with dangerous machinery carefully concealed behind thick walls. Dispensers and replicators produce whatever items citizens may want in exchange for their limited ration chits, while waste vanishes into disposal shafts that go right back down to the bottom level. Space is carefully partitioned into specialized areas, both public and private, with such convinces as maps located at regular intervals. Kids are rarely underfoot (unless one is in a school area), and speakers above and below occasionally chime with useful, educational messages. Those who value safety and security over an interesting life likely find the city paradise, while free souls and adventure seekers find it absolutely, unbearably stifling. Rather then pin such souls down where they would likely become a disruptive influence, the city quietly gets rid of them by means of the City Scouts. There are many materials (raw materials and luxuries, mostly) that the city would like but is unable to produce. Scouts are sent out into Creation by airship or ground craft, to seek new trading partners, sources of supply, or rare treasures to bring home for the cities museums. This allows these people what they want (adventure and independence), while also getting them safely away from the city, allowing a freewheeling culture of independence to thrive on the cities borders and docks.